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Are you really shining that brightly?

When you climb the mountains at night and look down in all directions you can see many sparkling lights. Colored lights always stand out, but bright lights stand out most of all. That is what spirit world sees when they look down on this world of ours. Your mind is like a light in the darkness, even though you cannot see it as such with your physical eyes. An electric bulb has an external shape, inside of which is the tungsten wire which actually lights up. As you know, the actual source of the light is the electricity generated by the power plant.

The brighter the light bulb, the heavier the wire inside must be. No matter how powerful the bulb is, however, it will give no light until the switch is turned on and the electricity flows. Where is the electricity, inside or outside the bulb? When you are quietly reading a book by your light you don’t see the huge power source that is keeping your light on. The moment the light is turned on the power flows not only in the bulb but down the length of the wire from the power plant. Just looking externally, it might be concluded that the switch is the actual source of power, but the unseen power plant is the actual source. The power plant looks like a factory, with huge generators making great noise. At a hydroelectric power plant a massive flow of water is turning enormous turbines, while at a steam powered electric plant huge amounts of fuel are burned to run the gigantic machinery.

If the power plant is far away from the place where electricity is used, some power is lost in transmission. Also, in order for your light to work everything must be in working order. If one little wire is out of place then the light won’t work. Such a bulb is like a dead man whose body exists but isn’t functioning. Our existence can be described in the same terms used for an electric bulb. You can be a person of small wattage or of great wattage and there are many ways you can shine. How many watts are you? It is easy to say you are a million watts, but are you really shining that brightly?

Have you ever thought about what power resources you have, or how heavy the wire is which connects you to the power plant? Perhaps you feel the wire is so heavy that it is difficult to maneuver. The important thing is that if you have a heavier wire you can draw more electricity. To use a powerful light bulb you also have to have an appropriate socket. We must consider what kind of socket and bulb we are. Are you small like a Christmas ornament light, or a big floodlight from a football field? It can be said that the effort you make every day goes to enlarge your bulb and socket so you can shine brighter and brighter. Is it easy? Also, is it cheap or expensive to do? It is one thing to enjoy benefit from the light, but to become a light yourself and become brighter and brighter is not easy. Often people are just like little lights, but they boast about it nevertheless.

When a great, bright light is turned on, the lesser bulbs are not needed and can be turned off. I’m sure God has thought about this phenomenon too. God made the sun such a bright source of light that nothing can compete with it. We need electricity only because there is night time. Do you have a greater need of sunlight or electricity? When the sun is shining is it possible to make the day brighter, even if many floodlights are turned on? It is impossible.

We commonly hear the expression “an enlightened mind.” It is very poetic to speak of the lantern of the mind.

The Sound Of The Bell Of The MindReverend Sun Myung MoonJanuary 28, 1979